You can talk to people anywhere and chances are that they will tell you that the Internet is a valuable tool.  It helps you find out things, get a phone number, and you can even order you groceries.  Did you know that the Internet can help you out with your finances as well?  Bear in mind I am not talking about making you money - rather ways to save it.

Perhaps one of the biggest benefits in using the Internet is the ability to compare.  You can compare savings accounts and compare credit cards to find the best financial product for you.  This is one area where your bank is not as helpful - they will just present their products to you.

Another popular way the Internet can save you some money is with car insurance.  If you watch television you probably have noticed the swarm of car insurance commercials urging you to compare car insurance and save yourself money.  Quite a few of these companies also allow you to compare their products with their competitors giving you an honest picture from which to make your choice.  You can usually save money each year as the prices in this industry continuously drop.

Just like any other tool, the Internet is only useful to your finances if you use it.  So I urge you to try it out, see what you think, and save yourself some money along the way.

It seems my mailbox (my real life one, not email) lately has been pounded with junk mail.  Some of you may understand my paid with this as most of the junk mail ends up in the garbage.  This is too bad as countless trees are killed each year to print up this junk mail - it is too bad there is no way to opt out.

Enough with my rant.  Even through the endless pile of junk, once in awhile a jewel shows up.  That happened today in a free seminar offer I received.

What caught my eye is that the seminar was about home ownership.  Specifically, it was about home finance and the way things worked.  Being new to the whole house thing (we bought a house in the last six months), it would be nice to know what I should be aware of.

Some of the topics to be covered in the seminar are mortgage loans, home refinancing, and home equity loans.  Basically, they are covering the use of financing at all stages of home ownership.

So, I went online and filled out my application.  It is in a few days and I can’t wait.  I’ll just have to watch to see what they are trying to sell me (usually these free seminars are not just free - they usually try to sell you something).

Well, it seems like I never get a night off to just have fun.  Either I am getting together with classmates to work on a group project, or I am studying for another exam.

The latter is what I am doing tonight.  There is a big psychology exam tomorrow on our the recent chapter we just finished - learning disabilities.  Right now I am studying the section on dyslexics. 

Now this may seem kind of weird, but I have had a tough time with this.  In some respect a lot of the symptoms of dyslexia can be a learning disability, but at the same time it could be due to bad education or other problems.  In some respects, a test for dyslexia is not very scientific - you could interpret the symptoms one way or the other.

Perhaps I will write about my opinions in the essay portion of the exam, but no time to think about that now.  I have to keep going here and work on the section about attention deficit disorder - man it is going to be a long night.

I recently had a phone call that was different than any other phone call I have ever had.  This call was from a telemarketer calling about car loans and how they had the best product for my needs.

This caught me off guard.  I am sure you are familiar with telemarketer trying to sell you something or trying to get you to donate to some organization.  But, this would be the first ever call dealing with loans.

I just couldn’t get the guy off the phone….

No matter what I tried, he kept rambling on how one of their cheap loans would be a godsend for me.  I tried to explain to him that my vehicle was paid for, but that just didn’t get through to him I guess.

It was a little different as well.  They were not trying to take my loan application over the phone, but rather they were trying to setup an appointment with me (in person) to talk to one of their representatives.  It was kind of funny too that they would be willing to automatically approve me for a $5,000 unsecured loan, over the phone, with no questions asked.  I wonder what they do with bankrupt people…

I hope that this is not some trend that will continue.  Like I said, it was my first call like this ever - and I still don’t know what I should think about it.

For most of you home owners out there, you are probably familiar with mortgages.  If you have had your home for a while, you may have already renewed your mortgage.  If you have, great, if you haven’t it is a pretty simple process.  It is almost as simple as walking in and then walking out.

But what happens if you have bad credit.  Specifically, I would like to talk about what happens when you go bankrupt, and then have to go remortgage your home.  First off, this will definitely come up in conversation and if it doesn’t you should mention it.  They will appreciate your honesty - and you don’t want to be charged for fraud.

Secondly, you may have to jump through a few extra hoops.  Getting a bad credit remortgage is a little different than if you had good credit.  A big bonus will be in your favor if you have historically made your mortgage payments on time.

All I can suggest is don’t worry: just be honest and everything should work out.  Unless there are some serious problems, it is rare that they don’t approve you (since they leant you the money in the first place).  Good luck!

I think life can be summed up in the following sentence:

"You start your life, fall in love, and get loans to please her."

Well, maybe it is not that cut and dry.  But let me give you an example of a life story that would fulfill this description.

When I turned 18, I decided I needed a car.  To get this car I got a unsecured loan from the bank.  I had been working at my job for the better part of two years and I had money in the bank.  So they had no problem lending the money to me.

At 21, I met the love of my life and the girl that would become my wife six years later.  At this point, the whole loans and love relationship started.  For example, she decided to buy a computer for me when I was 23 and she got a loan to do it.

Fast forward to our late 20s.  We now have a home (and a mortgage - a type of loan) and my wife wants to renovate our bathroom.  So we are going to get a secured homeowner loan to pay for it.  This way we can spread out our payments over the next twenty years or so.

So, if you look at my statement above, my life embodies that very well.

Now this may seem to be a silly topic but I urge you to read on.  You see, as children, we are read many stories.  This not only helps us to learn how to read, but it also helps us learn.  It is a great way to help build your creative side of the brain and it can also inspire us to grow as people.

I try to read stories about successful business owners each week.  Not only does this keep me motivated, but I usually learn something from the story.  Whether it is a different way to look at a problem, or a new way to make money in my business, it is definitely worth my time.

This week I decided to read about successful people in the real estate industry.  I had many options to choose from with some of the more famous people being Donald Trump and Robert Kiyosaki.  I decided to go away from the more popular people and find some lesser known gems.

I came across a story about Ian Slot from Seeff Properties.  Originally a lawyer, he became frustrated with the legal system and decided to turn to property instead.  He founded a financing company called Seeff Homeloans in 2000.  He prides himself that his company is able to help people invest in real estate - putting the customer first has paid off for his business immensely.

Another good success story comes from one of the largest independent real estate companies in South Africa.  Pam Golding started out her real estate career while she was a housewife and now her company has grown to over 250 offices and 2000 staff. 

I find that I like to learn about the beginning and read about the journey of successful people as it helps me stay motivated and gives me some reassurance that I am not the only one that has had challenges while building a business.  So, next time you are feeling a little down, or need some inspiration, read the success story of a successful person - you might just get inspired.

Well, I don’t know about you, but I quite often feel overwhelmed with the number of credit cards out there.  I get offers in my email box, in my real life mail box, and even get phone calls.  It is really hard to find out the facts and have some sort of basis to make a comparison.

I mean, all I want is the best credit card, right?  It should be that simple, but each one of us is different: spending and repayment habits vary person to person.

A good example of a card that would be good for someone that carries a balance would be a 0% credit card.  Usually the no-interest offer is limited for the first six months, but that may allow you to significantly reduce the balance on your cards.

For those of you that spend a lot and plan to pay off your card each month, a cash back credit card may be better for you.  These cards actually pay you to spend your money (some as high as 4% cash back) at the trade off of either fees or a higher monthly interest rate.  If you do pay off your balance, you can think of the card giving you a discount wherever you shop.

So, if you are in the market for a credit card, you have a lot of choices.  Pick a card that matches your spending and repayment habits, and you will have a pleasurable experience.

This may seem a little funny that someone would be looking forward to reading the paper.  It is getting to the point where most people read the news online as opposed to buying a paper.  The benefit is that the Internet is kept up to date whereas a paper is essentially old news.

Alright, that aside, I am looking forward to Saturday’s paper.  Why?  Well, I especially like reading the personal finance news section.  There I can learn about retirement options, budgeting, as well as how to put my money to work at home.  Sadly, it is the only day of the week that it is featured in our paper, so I treasure every moment of it.

I also like to take a look at the mortgage rates in the paper.  The rates are slightly cheaper than what the mortgage is on my house and I am considering refinancing.  Only about half a percent lower is what I would need to make it worthwhile.

Lastly, I keep my eye open for any new deals on car insurance.  I have been with my company for about a year, but I am always on the lookout for a better rate.  Sometimes, they have a section in the paper highlighting some of the specials available in town.

Well, better go to bed.  When I wake up, the paper will be here… yippee!

I have been thinking that I would like to expand my business.  I have over 25 websites and am looking to setup quite a few more.  In fact, I am considering doubling my Internet empire over the next month.  Thing is, I am a little cash poor right now, so I am going to have to get a loan.

I have been online for a few nights now, using the Internet to compare loans from different institutions.  To be honest, I don’t see a lot of variety when it comes to terms and interest rates.  I do have two choices of what type of loan I can get though.

I do have one thing going for me: I own a house.  Sure it is not the prettiest thing on the market, but the last few years have been good for housing prices and my house is worth more than it used to be.  I could use the equity in my home to get a secured personal loan.  The big benefit in terms of me and my business is that I can finance the money I borrow for up to twenty five years - making for low monthly payments.  Also, since I do have equity in my home, it is less of a problem to get.

My other option is just to get a regular personal loan.  The payments will be higher as the financing term would be just five years.  The advantage here would be that I would get the loan paid off quicker - instead of still paying it when I turn fifty.

I will have to sleep on it and make a decision.  Whatever the result, I can’t wait to grow my business - and spend my time doing what I am passionate about - nothing makes me happier.